What county is West Orange in?

West Orange is located in Essex County, New Jersey, in the northeastern part of the state. It sits on the eastern slope of the Watchung Mountains, roughly 17 miles west of Manhattan.

Is West Orange a city or a township?

West Orange is a township, a form of municipality common in New Jersey. It covers approximately 12 square miles in Essex County and is home to roughly 49,000 residents, functioning as a full-service local government with its own school district and services.

What school district serves West Orange?

West Orange is served by the West Orange Public Schools, which operates elementary, middle, and high school campuses across the township, including West Orange High School. Attendance zones are assigned by specific address within the township.

How far is West Orange from New York City?

West Orange sits about 17 miles west of Manhattan. Commuters can reach the city by NJ Transit bus to the Port Authority Bus Terminal or by using a township jitney to connect to nearby rail stations, where trains to Penn Station take roughly 30 minutes.

What is West Orange known for?

West Orange is best known for the Thomas Edison National Historical Park, which preserves the laboratory complex and Glenmont estate where Edison lived and worked from 1886 to 1931. It is also home to Llewellyn Park, one of America's first planned residential communities, a gated enclave of historic estates.

What is Llewellyn Park?

Llewellyn Park is a gated residential enclave in West Orange established in the 1850s and considered one of the first planned communities in the United States. It features sprawling estates, mature landscaping, and private grounds, and remains one of the township's most distinctive neighborhoods.

Houses in West Orange, NJ | Tom Governale

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Essex County Township

Houses in West Orange, NJ

Welcome to West Orange, the Essex County township on the eastern slope of the Watchung Mountains, home to Thomas Edison's historic laboratory and a short commute from Manhattan.

West Orange is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, set on the eastern slope of the Watchung Mountains about 17 miles west of Manhattan. With roughly 49,000 residents spread across approximately 12 square miles, it is a substantial inner-ring suburb that blends late-19th-century estates, classic mid-century neighborhoods, and modern condominium development. Its most famous address is the Thomas Edison National Historical Park, which preserves the laboratory complex and Glenmont estate where the inventor lived and worked from 1886 until his death in 1931. It was in these buildings that Edison and his staff refined the phonograph, the alkaline storage battery, and the motion picture camera. The township's residential character is anchored by Llewellyn Park, one of America's first planned residential communities, a gated enclave of sprawling estates and landscaped grounds laid out in the 1850s. Beyond it, West Orange offers a wide mix of older colonials, postwar ranch and split-level homes, and condominium buildings that give the township an unusual range of housing types for an Essex County community. Distinct sections such as St. Cloud and the hillside areas along the township's main corridors contribute individual neighborhood identities. West Orange appeals to commuters and families drawn by its schools, open space, and relatively quick access to New York City. NJ Transit bus routes serve the Port Authority Bus Terminal, and residents can connect via a township jitney to nearby rail stations with direct service to Penn Station. The township's daily life revolves around a mix of professional households, longtime residents, and newcomers who value a larger home and more green space than the urban markets across the Hudson. The wooded slopes of the Watchung Mountains, the township's own parks, and the dining and cultural amenities of neighboring Montclair and South Orange round out everyday life for residents.

Tom Governale | Keller Williams Seniors Moving Forward

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